Wine Tasting

June 10, 2009

Pinot Noir

Hosts:

Ben & Mary Kelley

Comments:

Again, a superbly organized blind tasting, with six 2006 Pinot Noir wines. Ben told us something of the difficulties in producing Pinot Noir wine, which explains the typically higher price for the better ones. Asparagus spears, cheeses, and smoked salmon were a wonderful complement to the wines.

Many thanks from all of us to Ben & Mary.

The guests rated the wines out of 100 and the results are tabulated below.

Quote from Bruce Stephen in an article in North Shore News: "Pinot noir thrives in the cooler wine regions of the world. The grape needs a near-perfect balance of warm days and cool evenings to prosper. If too cold, then the grapes won’t ripen and if too warm the grapes are sure to produce jammy and unstructured wines.

Because of the extra attention required for its success, pinot is produced in much smaller quantities than other popular red wines. As a result, it is often more expensive than other red wines."

Wines:

Code	Winery	Label	Location	Points	Source	Cost

1	Road 13 Vineyards (Golden Mile Cellars)	Black Arts Pinot Noir	Oliver, BC	77	BCLS	$34.99
2	Firesteed Cellars	Oregon Pinot Noir	Willamette Valley, Oregon	81	BCLS	$24.99
3	Erath Winery	Earth Heart Pinot Noir	Dundee Hills, Oregon	79	BCLS	$32.95
4	Cedar Creek Estate Winery	Estate Select Pinot Noir	Kelowna, BC	83	Arrowsmith	$27.10
5	Sokol Blosser Winery	Dundee Hills Pinot Noir	Dundee Hills, Oregon	87	BCLS	$43.99
6	Quail's Gate Estate Winery	Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir	Kelowna, BC	86	BCLS	$45.00

Wine Notes:

2006 Black Arts Pinot Noir

There may be some confusion about this wine, as the winery changed their name this year from "Golden Mile Cellars" to "Road 13 Vineyards". Their reserve series wines have been changed from "Black Arts" to "Jackpot". The 2006 that we tasted is the last of the wines to be bottled under the old label, so if you want this wine in the future, look for Road 13 Jackpot.

This wine has a great background. Amongst other awards, it has been awarded: Silver, Gold, Gold in the Okanagan Fall Wine Festivals for the past three vintages, as well as the Lieutenant Governor's Award for excellence in BC wines for the 2005 vintage. An interesting side note, this wine is on sale at the Wine Store in Calgary for $54.95 and at Zyn.ca (Calgary based on-line wine store) for $64.00!!

Notwithstanding all of these accolades, our group ranked this wine dead last.

2006 Firesteed Pinot Noir

From a Seattle newpaper review: "You have to love a winery that works at keeping costs at reasonable levels while over-delivering on value. A winery that produces wine to, simply, go with whatever food you’re enjoying. Wine lover, meet Firesteed."

Our group didn't rate it last, but was not overly impressed. It seems that there are better Pinots out there for the money.

2006 Erath Oregon Pinot Noir

Gary Horner, Winemaker: "Black cherry aromas, underscored by sweet mandarin orange, greet the nose as warm, clove-laced vanilla wafts gently among subtle hints of anise and caramel. The wine opens on the palate with more hints of sweet black cherry, which flows seamlessly into a supple silkiness. A long, clean fruit-filled finish is punctuated by a playful wink of youthful tannin."

Wine & Spirits rated the 2007 vintage at 89 and the Year's Best Pinot Noir and Best Buy. It sells for $16 in the US and might be worth that, but our group was less enthusiastic and, given the price here in BC, this is not a wine that you should run out to buy.

2006 Cedar Creek Estate Select Pinot Noir

Although not voted the best wine in the grouping, it was clearly the best value. The third highest rated in quality, it is within a dollar of the lowest priced wine.

Bruce Stephen: "This well made, much-improved pinot noir from award-winning winemaker Tom Di Bello boasts inviting aromas of strawberry, cherry, herbs and spice. The palate is soft and smooth with ripe red fruit, good balance and a wonderful finish. Try this lovely B.C. Pinot with wild salmon or grilled tenderloin of beef. 89pts".

John Schreiner: "One of the Okanagan’s premier producers of Pinot Noir, CedarCreek grows several clones of the variety at both its estate vineyard and at its Greata Ranch Vineyard. Both vineyards are near Kelowna, in the cool northern Okanagan. Judging from the quality of the Pinot Noir emerging from CedarCreek and from Quails’ Gate, which is just across Okanagan Lake, these northern vineyards are proving very well-suited to the variety.

CedarCreek produces a sensual reserve Pinot Noir under its Platinum label and a punchier, less cerebral wine under its Estate Select label. This is a generous wine, with aromas of vanilla, cherries, plums and spice. The flavours of good barrels are nicely integrated with the taste of black cherries, with a long spicy finish. 87 points."

2006 Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

The highest rated wine of the evening, with 6 of us rating it the best wine of the group.

From the WineMaker: "Our 2006 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir is extremely concentrated yet delicate and elegant – soft, supple, harmonious, and packed with intense black cherry and berry fruit, mocha, and our distinctive Jory soil forest-floor earthiness. While this wine may not have the acid and tannin structure to last for fifteen or twenty years, it’s drinking beautifully now after only four months in the bottle and should age well and develop additional complexity for at least the next five to ten years."

2006 Quail's Gate Pinot Noir

The second highest rated wine of the evening, with 2 of us rating it the best wine and 6 rating it second best of the group.

John Schreiner: "It is a seductive wine, beginning with a rush of berry aromas in the glass. The velvet texture adds to the wine’s seduction. This is a very elegant wine. 91 Points."